Inflationary Millionaires

Inflation has greatly reduced the real wealth required to be a millionaire. High inflation, such as what happened in the late 70’s and early 80’s in the United States has dramatically reduced the real purchasing power of money. A million dollars truly is not what it used to be. Use this calculator to see what it takes to be a true old-time millionaire.
By changing any value in the following form fields, calculated values are immediately provided for displayed output values. Click the view report button to see all of your results.
You need $3,815,533.98 today to be a 1980 millionaire.
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Total inflation:
1980 Millionaire vs. 2024 Millionaire Column Graph: Please use the calculator's report to see detailed calculation results in tabular form.
The Increasing Cost to be a 1980 Millionaire Line Graph: Please use the calculator's report to see detailed calculation results in tabular form.

Definitions

Starting year

The initial year to start your millionaire adjustments for inflation.

Ending year

The final year adjust for inflation. The final value is always calculated for the end of the year you select.

Total inflation

The total cumulative impact of inflation for the time-frame you have selected. To calculate total inflation, the tool uses the Consumer Price Index (CPI) as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The underlying data supplies an annual CPI rate and a base amount which represents the relative purchasing power for that year. For example, in 1980 the base amount was 82.4 compared to 224.9 in 2011. In this example, $224.90 in 2011 would have the same purchasing power as $82.40 in 1980. The calculations use the base amounts to calculate the difference between any two years. There are small data discrepancies and loss of precision through rounding in the underlying data supplied by the Federal Reserve. These discrepancies can cause differences between the annual change in base amounts and the stated CPI rate for any given year.

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Information and interactive calculators are made available to you as self-help tools for your independent use and are not intended to provide investment advice. We cannot and do not guarantee their applicability or accuracy in regards to your individual circumstances. All examples are hypothetical and are for illustrative purposes. We encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding all personal finance issues.